Early start to this year’s St. Patrick’s Day parties in Waterloo

St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Sunday this year but you wouldn’t know it in Waterloo, Ont.

Thousands of university and college students, dressed all in green, made their way to Marshall Street on Saturday afternoon.

“We just have a lot of friends around here,” said one. “We’re just trying to party as much as we can.”

“When else are you going to hang out with 20,000 people?” asked another.

St. Patrick's Day festivities on Marshall Street in Waterloo on March 16, 2024. (Hannah Schmidt/CTV Kitchener)

The unsanctioned street party has become an annual tradition in Waterloo’s University district.

Officers with the Waterloo Regional Police Service were also out on Saturday, making sure students stayed safe.

MORE: How Waterloo prepared for this year’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations

Police keep an eye on students taking part in St. Patrick's Day celebrations on Marshall Street on March 16, 2024.

Not everyone who showed up Saturday, however, were there to party.

“This year I think we have 20,000 Timbits and 4,000 water bottles that we’re giving away,” a volunteer told CTV News, adding that they were provided by the community. “It’s all just the support of our church, the regular tithes [and] donations of the members of our church.”

A volunteer hands out Timbits to students at Waterloo's unsanctioned St. Patrick's Day street party on March 16, 2024. (Hannah Schmidt/CTV Kitchener)

Some party-goers said the festivities brought back memories.

“We both grew up in Kitchener-Waterloo,” explained one person.  “Always, around this time, my mom would be like: ‘We’re not driving anywhere remotely around University, Albert [or] Columbia. Because it’s just crazy.’ I remember when Ezra [Avenue] was a thing and it was just like, always insane.”

Others said it was a good opportunity to meet new people.

“I think it’s a great place for everyone, from schools anywhere, [to] interact with each other,” said an attendee.

In Guelph, the St. Patrick’s Day parties also started early.

In a post, made around 7 p.m. on the social media platform X, police said they’d already made their first arrest for impaired driving.

- With additional reporting by Hannah Schmidt